[Book Review]: Not my Problem || Sorry for the long absence, but I AM BACK!!! and I bring along a new favorite. And also desperately in need of a SEQUEL??!!

So. Some of you little olives might be wondering where I’d disappeared to.

Or maybe not because you don’t care enough *sobs* THE BETRAYAL!!! THE BETRAYAL! But I like to assume someone still cares someone? anyone? no? *continues sobbing* SO RUDE, and so I come prepared to answer you with… um… excuses?

• NaNoWriMo! I’m humiliatingly behind on my word count goal, but IT HAS BEEN SO MUCH FUN! And what can I say, I’ve been busy writing or the lack thereof. shhh, you do not give away my secrets like that and blogging has been pushed back, back, back, to the very back of the dusty dark little cupboard filled to the brim with human eating spiders. We’ll leave it at that.
• Exams! And school! With offline school starting and exams taking over my existence, it has been BUSY, but exams are now over *cheers* studying is forgotten until the end of the year when we shall all start stressing over undone biology assignments together, and BASICALLY I’M BACK HERE FILLED WITH SO MUCH EXCITEMENT.
• I’ve been reading! After terrible reading months of 2 books *runs away* I’ve been trying to make some time to read because I do not like being humiliated like that. And it’s actually been going pretty good! And that brings us to the main reason of writing this post (apart from telling you how disappointed I am that no one missed me, obviously) I HAVE FOUND A NEW FAVORITE BOOK TO CONTINUE MY OBSESSION OVER AND TORTURE PEOPLE INTO READING! Welcome the one and only – Not my Problem by Ciara Smyth! (READ IT)

Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t fix. Her best (and only) friend is pulling away. Her mother’s drinking problem is a constant concern. She’s even running out of outlandish diseases to fake so she can skip PE.

But when Aideen stumbles on her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that—unlike her own disaster of a life—seems refreshingly easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help. By pushing Meabh down the stairs.

Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another “client” who needs her “help,” it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own, but it might be the push she needs to start.

It is amazing when you have high expectations from a book and it lives up to them. But you know what’s better? When you go into a book without knowing or expecting much from it and it becomes a favorite. When you love the characters so much, its like you’re living and breathing with them. *wipes tears* so inspirational. so cheesy.

Not my Problem is a MASTERPIECE and one of the best contemporary books I have ever read. Everything, from the characters, to the plot, to the person sitting next to you (ok what? that just pushed its way in, i swear) was marvellous. The first person narration was downright phenomenal, and I have never read anything so wildly humourous. It will have you laughing so hard at points tears will roll down your face and someone will come into your room to check on you if you haven’t accidentally gone mad or something. It’s that funny, not exaggerating. You will love the characters so much that every second until you’re done, you’ll either be reading the book or thinking about them. And after you’re done? Well, you’ll be a puddle of tears because you’ll be so sad it’s over. And then you’ll desperately wish there’s a sequel.

Basically, the main character, Aideen, is, among other things, scarcastic, extremely funny, so smart, kind, and, well, if we’re willing to admit, ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTERS EVER. Her life is a chaotic mess, but she’s trying to keep it all together. She uses humour to hide all the problems in her life, because she doesn’t want anyone to find out, doesn’t want to be pitied for what she has had no hand in choosing. She is so strong, she has gone through so much but she still manages to keep it all hidden, so that people won’t pity her. Her narration is just so freaking unique, she can make ANYONE laugh and agh, her sense of humor and her unique voice can never, I repeat, NEVER, be matched. I can’t tell you how much I came to love her character over the course of this book, and how real it all felt.

BUT, even more surprisingly, that isn’t even where the good parts end. Honestly, THERE’S ACTUALLY MORE. There’s the other characters, all of whom will own your heart by the end of the book. There’s Meabh, the daughter of the school’s principal, who appears to be a perfect, annoying little princess everyone hates. Hers is probably the best written character of all. I love how the author shows us a different side of her, the one that no one sees. How who she seemingly appears at the surface isn’t all that she is. Meabh is the kind of person that makes you love the world, and fills you up with so much hope. She’s got such a huge heart, and she wouldn’t stop trying to help the world and make it a better place no matter what it costs her. She will honestly make you cry at some point over how amazing she is. She is so misunderstood, and I want to personally beat up everyone who has ever made fun of her, or talked about her behind their backs. She has a heart of gold and she deserves the world and so much more, okay?

THEN, there’s also Kavi, my sweet little boy, sunshine-and-happiness-spreader extraordinaire. I DESPERATELY NEED HIM IN MY LIFE. His personality is… EVERYTHING. He is the sweetest, kindest friend I’ve ever read about, and I wish so desperately that he was an actual person and not a fictional character, because my love for him is infinite. I want to hug him.

The friendship aspect of it is everything tho, and the one, biggest reason you need this book in your life. It deals with losing a friend you’ve always loved so much, shared practically your entire life with, laughed so hard that tears roll down your cheeks at jokes that no one else can even begin to understand. And how you can still make new friends, still find happiness and friendship, move on and be happy even when a corner of your heart will always be sad at the loss. The way the friendships were shown, the old ones and the new that Aideen makes throughout the course of the book, THEY WERE THE BEST PART. I’VE NEVER READ ANYTHING LIKE IT.

Kavi’s jaw – dropping monologues, his loyalty and sweet, kind heart, Aideen’s hilarious list of diseases, her sarcasm and mindblowing sense of humor, and her grit and bravery, her wish to never disappoint anyone and to be enough to solve her own problems and not need anyone’s help, to not hurt anyone even when she is being hurt by them, and Meabh’s perseverance and her determination. I SWEAR YOU WILL LOVE THIS SO MUCH. The storyline does not fail to deliver either. Though it’s pretty straightforward, it completely makes up by being SO MUCH FUN!

The narration is ground breaking genius, insanely hilarious, so unbelievably unique and one of the best I’ve ever read. Man, I wish I could write decent reviews solely for the purpose of being able to do justice to this masterpiece, but seeing as I can’t –

Have you read Not my Problem??? What are your thoughts??? Is this book on your TBR??